Kobe Bryant宣布本季結束後將高掛球鞋，許多球隊紛紛為他「最後一次的造訪」舉辦活動，感謝他二十年來為聯盟的復出。同時也有許多現役球員撰文回味自己與Kobe的小故事，本篇便是由拓荒者替補搖擺人Henderson發表於The Players’ Tribune的文章。
原著(Author)：Gerald Henderson
文章名稱：The First Time I Guarded Kobe
日期：2016/01/21
原文出處：http://www.theplayerstribune.com/gerald-henderson-guarding-kobe-bryant/
“There's something wrong with the rim.” That’s the first thing Kobe ever said to me.
People say Kobe’s a perfectionist. Yeah, maybe a little. Let me tell you about the first time I ever met him.
「籃框有點狀況。」那是Kobe對我說的第一句話。
人們總說Kobe是個完美主義者，對啦，是有那麼一點。就讓我告訴你關於我們第一次見面的小故事。
It was during pre-game shootaround, back in my rookie year in Charlotte in 2009, and the Lakers were visiting. Kobe was out on the court all by himself, putting up jumpers.
那是在2009年，當我還是個聯盟菜鳥的時候。當天Kobe和他的湖人隊造訪夏洛特(譯者註1)，當時他獨自在場上進行著他的賽前練投。
For a kid from Philly who grew up close to Lower Merion, this was a pretty big deal for me. Kobe was not only a national legend … he was a hometown legend. When I was 9 years old or so, my dad brought me to a high school game where Kobe dropped 50 – and he sat for the fourth quarter. I have visions of Kobe pulling up from one step inside half court — and draining it — and then walking back on defense with a strut, as if he knew just how good he was. He did. Lower Merion was a small gym. Standing room only. Everyone was there to see him.
對一個從小在費城Lower Merion體育館附近長大的孩子來說，這真是意義重大。Kobe不僅僅是個國家傳奇，更是個家鄉的傳說。當我大概九歲的時候，老爸帶我去看一場Kobe得了50分，第四節還坐在板凳休息的比賽。我記得Kobe在那場比賽有一球在剛過半場一步就拔起出手，而且球還進了。當他慢步回防的時候，臉上滿是驕傲，彷彿在說，我就是這麼強。他的確是強。Lower Merion不過是個小小的體育館，連個坐著看球的位置都沒有，大家就是專程去看他的。
That’s all to say that — yeah, by 2009, Kobe and I were both NBA players but he was just a bit better than me. Just a bit. Kobe had been my basketball idol more than half of my life. I tried to do everything he did. So seeing him in the flesh was a pretty cool moment for me.
總歸一句來說，在2009年以前，Kobe跟我都是NBA球員，但他只比我好上那麼一點點，就一點點而已。他曾是我的籃球偶像超過半輩子，我試著要做到他做的任何動作，所以親眼看到他對我來說是個相當酷的經驗。
So I’m shooting around and there’s still about 45 minutes until tip. Kobe’s on the other end, still shooting, and I’m glancing over at him. Remember, I’m a rookie. I want to see how this guy approaches warm-ups. Maybe I can learn something from him. Steal a move or two.
所以我就在他附近投著籃，還有45分鐘才進休息時間。Kobe依舊在球場的另一端投籃，我一直在偷看他那邊。別忘了，我只是個菜鳥，我想觀察她怎麼完成熱身，或許我還能從他那偷到一兩招來用用。
But it was weird: he was missing more shots than he was making. Honestly, he was missing a lot.
All of a sudden, I looked up and Kobe had stopped shooting. He was holding the ball on his hip with one hand — and motioning to the sideline with the other.
Then all sorts of commotion started.
不過情況有點怪，他投不進的頻率開始提高，老實說，他沒進的球有點太多了。突然間，我發現Kobe停下了投籃的動作，他單手持球，跟其他人一起走到場邊。然後各種騷動就此展開。
A crew of maintenance guys showed up from out of nowhere. It looked like a hockey line change — maintenance guys rushing on and off the court. Kobe was saying something to them and gesturing. But from where I was standing, I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
一組維修人員不曉得從哪冒了出來，他們就像冰球場上的戰況一樣跑來跑去。Kobe則是比手畫腳地跟他們討論，只是從我站的地方聽不到他們在說什麼。
Suddenly, there was a ladder being set up under the basket. Kobe’s pointing up at the rim and the maintenance guys are positioning the ladder. A measuring tape is involved.
然後他們在籃下架了一座鐵梯，Kobe指著籃框示意工作人員鐵梯的準確位置，並且拿來了一捲測量尺。
What’s going on? Kobe was up to something.
I’m standing at half court watching the scene play out, and Kobe starts walking over to me.
“Something wrong with the rim.”
“Oh yeah?”
We’re watching a guy climb the ladder and tinker with the rim.
“It’s too low. The rim’s a quarter of an inch too low.”
“Huh?” I mumble. I’d never really heard about maintenance issues with a rim before a game.
“What do you mean?”
“I was missing shots that I don’t miss. I’m pretty sure it’s low. A quarter of an inch.”
Then it was over. That was it. Our first conversation. He went back to his shooting routine.
是發生什麼事了嗎？Kobe好像發現了什麼。
我站在中場附近觀察，然後Kobe朝我走了過來。
「籃框有點問題。」他說。
「真的嗎？」我回答。
我們看著一個工作人員爬上鐵梯、似乎是要調整籃圈。
「籃框太低了，它比正常的矮了四分之一吋。(譯者註2)」
「蛤？」我隨便應了一聲。我從來沒聽說過在比賽前籃框出狀況的問題。「你的意思是？」
「我剛剛那些投丟的球不應該不進的，我還滿確定籃框太矮了，矮了四分之一吋。」
然後這段談話就結束了，就這樣，我們第一次的交談。之後他又回去重複他那千篇一律的投籃練習。
Two things pop into my head:
1. Man I can’t believe I just had a conversation with that cat…
… and
2. Dude, Kobe, maybe it’s not the rim. Maybe you’re just … missing shots.
我突然想到兩件事：
一、天哪我不敢相信我剛剛跟Kobe講話耶
二、Kobe老哥，或許不是籃框吧！應該就只是你…沒投進而已。
Larry Brown was the Bobcats coach at the time. I have all the respect in the world for Larry, but he was tough on me, as he is on all rookies. When I was a rookie, it was a struggle to get any minutes. I’d pray to get 5, maybe 10 minutes a game, if that.
Larry Brown當時是山貓隊主帥(譯者註3)，我心中對他只有尊敬，但就像對所有菜鳥一樣，他也對我很嚴厲。我在菜鳥年的時候，連要爭取到一分鐘的上場時間都很困難。我常祈禱一場比賽能獲得五分鐘、甚至十分鐘的上場時間，那就太好了。
But the coaching staff knew I was one of our best defensive players. So before the game I told one of our assistant coaches Jeff Capel: “Cape, I want to play tonight man. I want to guard Kobe!”
Cape responded: “You gon’ get your chance.”
教練團也知道我是當時隊上最好的防守球員之一，所以賽前我跟助理教練Jeff Capel說「教練我想打球，我想上去防守Kobe！」他回答「你會得到機會的。」
I’d like to say that the coaching staff listened. But more likely, the only reason I played that night was that Larry wanted to test me. He knew Kobe was my basketball idol and he wanted to see if I was up to the challenge.
我想教練團是聽進去了。不過更有可能的是，Larry讓我打是想測試我，他知道Kobe是我的偶像，他想知道我是不是能夠承受這樣的挑戰。
After a couple guys picked up early fouls, Larry looked down the bench. I was way down at the end.
“Gerald, go guard him.”
I jumped up off the bench. I was ready for my “chance.” I remember my hands were sweaty and my heart was beating too fast for someone who hadn’t been in the game yet.
在幾個先發球員提早陷入犯規麻煩之後，Larry望向板凳席，我當時坐在最末端。
「Gerald，上去防他吧！」我從板凳上跳起，我早就準備好要好好把握這個「機會」了。我還記得當時我連場都還沒上，就已經留了手汗、心臟跳得飛快。
I want to dispel a myth about the NBA. You might think, after playing the sport for our whole lives, from AAU to college to the NBA, that NBA players don’t get nervous. Forget that. NBA players get nervous, too.
I was a rookie checking into the game, cold, to guard Kobe Bryant.
I was nervous as ever.
我想打破一個大眾對NBA的迷思。你可能會覺得，我們打了一輩子的球，從AAU到NBA，應該不會緊張了吧？別傻了，我們也是人，也會緊張的。
我以一個新人之姿，進場對位防守Kobe。我覺得好冷，而且前所未有的緊張。
Another secret: the way to get rid of nerves is to just launch yourself into the game. You just have to make a play, any play: get a stop on D, grab a rebound, dive for a ball. Anything to get into the flow of the game.
告訴你們一個小祕密好了，想擺脫緊張最好的方法，就是全心全意的投入比賽。想辦法做好一個動作吧，任何你想得到的動作，像是在防守端守下一波對方的攻擊、搶個籃板、撲出去救球，任何能讓自己進入比賽節奏的事情。
The first possession down, Kobe got it on the wing. I was on him. Here we go.
第一波球權發出來，Kobe持球，我守他，我們正式開始競爭。
Now, I had watched Kobe growing up. I had watched lots of his game tape. I honestly felt like I knew his game as well as you can know a guy’s game from watching it. I thought I had a feel for him. I still do.
我一路上看Kobe打球而成長，我在這之前已經看了他無數比賽的影帶了。我認真的覺得我了解他所有的比賽、所有的動作，就好像你可以從一個球員的比賽中了解他一樣。我到那時還是覺得對他有某種特殊的感覺，覺得我能夠守得住他。
He knew I was a rookie, so he went right at me early. On the first play, he drove right, picked up his dribble, and shot faked at the elbow. I anticipated that move. It was classic Kobe. I stayed down.
He shot faked again — and, again, I stayed down. I wasn’t falling for that.
他也知道我是個菜鳥，所以他馬上對我持球進攻。在第一次的進攻中，他先從右側切入，運了幾次球，然後用手肘做了一個出手的假動作。我預測到了，那就是典型的Kobe，我並未被騙起跳。他連續做了好幾個假動作，我都沒有被騙起來，我是不會對這種餌上鉤的。
A few plays later, Kobe goes at me again. He drives me. He gets some space and I’m sure he’s going to let this one go … WRONG. He fakes and I go flying…
Dang, he got me.
幾波的進攻之後，Kobe再次持球單打我。這次他先切入，然後清出一點空間，我肯定這次他會出手了…嗎？並不是，他又使出了假動作，這次我卻已飛在天上。噹噹噹，他終究釣中了我。
But instead of jumping into me to draw the foul, Kobe went into his bag of tricks.
As I’m in the air, Kobe reverse-pivots and steps under me, into the key, and throws the ball off the backboard. I’m still in the air, helpless. All I can do is watch.
You might be able to guess what happened next: he grabs his own lob off the backboard and rattles a dunk. The crowd went nuts.
但是這次他並沒有往我身上跳來買犯規，他從他眾多讓人眼花撩亂的技巧中小秀了一番。當我還在空中的時候，Kobe調整了重心，並把球拋向我身後的籃板。我還在空中，只能無助的看著這一切發生。
你可以猜到接下來發生了什麼，他抓下他自己拋往籃板的反彈球爆扣籃框，觀眾全都瘋狂了。
I remember thinking to myself: Idiot, you can’t go for the fake.
This move was impressive for many reasons. Kobe had the skill to throw a prefect pass off the backboard to himself, gather the ball mid-air and thrust it through the hoop. But also, he did a move he probably did not need to do. He could have easily let me fall down on top of him and taken the two easy free throws. But he used his creativity to execute a move that most guys wouldn’t think about trying. Why? For the fans? For the highlight reel? For his legend? Who knows. The guy is special.
我記得我內心的小劇場：「你這白癡，怎麼被這種假動作騙！」
這個動作其實非常令人印象深刻。理由有好幾個，首先是Kobe有能力拋出一個完美的打板反彈球，在空中接到並且以爆扣收尾。其次就是他做了一個他沒必要做的動作，他本可輕鬆的往我身上靠然後獲得兩個簡單的罰球，但他運用自己的創造力執行的一個大部分的人根本沒想過要嘗試的動作。為什麼？為了球迷嗎、還是為了在每日的精彩剪輯露臉？為了他個人的傳奇故事嗎？誰知道呢，這傢伙太特別了。
Kobe finished the game with 30 points. After the game, Coach Brown gave me a nod and said I’d played well. I think he meant it. Even though Kobe got 30, I had stuck to my game plan. For great scoring guards, the game plan is pretty universal: limit your guy to tough, contested two-point shots. If they’re off-balance jumpers, even better.
Kobe當晚得了30分，賽後總教練跟我點了點頭說我打得不錯，我想他應該是真的這麼想。即使Kobe拿到30分，我也達成我預設的目標，要防守偉大的得分後衛，主要目標就是讓他不斷的去投困難的兩分球，若是能讓他們多去做失去平衡的出手，那就更完美了。
Problem is, an off-balance, contested jumper might be Kobe’s strongest offensive move. You know the one where he drives past his defender, finds his spot, stops on a dime in front of the help defender, elevates, releases the ball at the height of his jump over an outstretched hand, leans back to put a little more arc on it. If you’re a defender, that’s a great shot to have your opponent take. Any coach would smile at that.
But Kobe makes those shots — consistently. And there’s nothing you can do about it…
Kobe’s perfected the art of scoring, if that can be done. He has counters to your counters. He has a toolbox full of scoring moves. Every night, he has new tools in there, for new scenarios. Good defense rarely slows Kobe down. In a crazy way, good defense makes Kobe better. It just reveals new moves that he’s been waiting to try out.
問題是，這種身體失衡、又是對位防守的跳投或許是Kobe最強大的進攻手段之一。
當他運球過了第一線防守者，找到空間，在協防者面前停下、起跳、在一隻盡力伸長的手面前投射，背部還要稍微弓起來以爭取更多空間。如果你是那個防守者，這是一個相當好的結果，讓Kobe掉入防守陷阱去做超高難度的出手，任何教練應該都會為你的好防守微微一笑。
但是Kobe「不斷的投進」這種球，而你卻無能為力。
Kobe不斷精進自己在得分方面的技術，或者說是藝術，只要那是可能達成的。他會針對你的反擊來回應，用他那整車得分的技巧。每天晚上，他都會增添新的工具，好應對新的狀況。好的防守幾乎無法讓他慢下來，更誇張的說法是，好的防守讓他變得更強，讓他能夠展現他等待嘗試的新招。
At his best, Kobe didn’t just have a jump shot, he had a well-rounded game. He was a perennial NBA All-Defense team member. Kobe would check the other team’s best perimeter player every night and lock him down. His whole career, he was an underrated passer because of the difficult shots he would take and make. He was as versatile as they came.
在Kobe的全盛期，他不僅只有跳投，而是個攻守俱佳的全能球員。他是多屆NBA年度防守球隊的成員，他會親自防守對方的進攻主力並且想辦法鎖死他。在他的球員生涯中，是一個被低估的傳球好手，只因為它有太多高難度出手與高難度進球(譯者註4)。他是如此的多才多藝。
This season, his final of 20, Kobe has not been his regular self. Injuries have clearly caught up to him and he has not performed like he has in the past. Many have thrown shade on him, almost as if they’ve forgotten what the guy has meant to the game. Forgotten what he’s done for the NBA. Forgotten what he’s done for young kids like me growing up who looked up to him. I don’t have to break down the reasons why Kobe is one of the greatest to ever play basketball. Commentators will be doing that all year long on Kobe’s farewell tour – and for years to come.
本季是他20年生涯的最後一季，Kobe並不像往常的他。傷病明顯的纏上了他，使他表現不如以往。很多人不斷抹黑他，似乎已經忘了他對籃球比賽、對NBA聯盟、對看他打球長大的孩子們的貢獻與意義。我想Kobe是史上最偉大的籃球員之一，理由無須贅述。各家的體育評論員會就這個問題討論個好幾年。
In the sport of basketball, and any sport for that matter, you play the game to win. So with everything that is Kobe Bryant, the most admired and respected part about him is that he is a CHAMPION. Five times over. No one will ever forget that.
包含籃球在內，各項運動競賽的核心價值就是要贏球，所以就Kobe Bryant這個整體看來，最讓人欣賞與尊敬的部分就是他是個冠軍。整整五次，沒有人會忘記。
After the buzzer sounded, I was walking off the court and I saw one of the maintenance guys — one of the guys who was carrying the ladder onto the court during warm-ups.
I had to ask.
“Hey man, what was up with the rim before the game?”
“Oh, someone notified us that it was a little lower than regulation.”
He added: “Don’t worry. We adjusted it to 10 feet.”
Then he told me how much it was off by.
I could tell you his answer, but I think you already know what he said.
在該場比賽結束的哨音響起後，我慢慢走下場，看到一個維修小組的人，那是熱身期間一個搬鐵梯進來的工作人員。我必須問問他。
「嘿！兄弟，比賽前那個籃筐是怎麼回事啊？」
「歐，有人通知我們說他比正規的矮了一點點。」「別擔心，我們把他調回10呎高(譯者註5)了。」然後他告訴我籃框偏差了多少距離。
我可以告訴你他的答案，但我想你已經知道他說了什麼。
譯者註1：Gerald Henderson於2009年以第12順位被夏洛特山貓隊選中，2015年被交易至波特蘭拓荒者隊。
譯者註2：1吋約為2.54公分，四分之一吋大約是0.64公分左右。
譯者註3：Larry Brown時任夏洛特山貓隊主帥，山貓隊已於2015年改名黃蜂隊。
譯者註4：Kobe生涯單場最高17次助攻，2015/01/15，對手克里夫蘭騎士隊。
譯者註5：10呎高是NBA規則上籃框的標準高度，1呎等於12吋，大約30.5公分。
譯者後記
看完這個故事，不得不佩服Kobe的職業精神，即使是那麼微小的細節，都要做到完美，許多球員都對他能針對同樣一個重複的動作練習一小時以上感到不可思議，但是這就是Kobe對NBA、甚至整個籃球世界最遠大的影響，「苦練是成為頂尖唯一的途徑」。
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圖／網路
譯／Michael
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